Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $92.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.24.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $69.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Western Digital has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.09 and a 200 day moving average of $69.65.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,957.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,900,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $73,126,000 after buying an additional 981,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after buying an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.